I am really really really times a million point five sorry this chapter took so long. I know where I want the story to go and what the plot is going to be and stuff (and stuff is my favorite and most overused phrase) but sometimes I can't decide how I want those things to happen. So, once again, I am very sorry. Just don't take the hate you obviously feel for me out on my chapter, because most of it is good ol' Palex banter. I would say 'fluff' but that word brings an image of a fuzzy, pink, heart-shaped pillow to mind, and I'm not too big on those. The first half of it is Alex pondering subjects that pertain to the plot, but the other half is completely pointless...yet completely necessary, in my opinion. I simply felt that I couldn't create drama in every single chapter, so here's a bit of easy reading for all ye faithful to my SWC series. Enjoy.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? I don't have to leave if--"

"Paige, I'll be fine." She was reluctantly leaving my house to do some laundry and get food, since she had essentially been living at my house since my hospital visit. She had been waiting on me head and foot for days now, and even though her obsessive do-you-need-anything-ness had admittedly been getting on my nerves, it still made me melt inside.

Although I had had my favorite movies, ice cream and junk food--all provided by Paige--to keep me busy, I couldn't help but think about Jay. About whether I should forgive him, in a sense, for what he did by sending him to the world of therapy and meds, or I should give him jailtime, a punishment that probably everybody at Degrassi had wanted him to receive.

I was constantly going over it in my head. Jay inside a jail cell should, logically, equal my happiness. But then a second thought always forced its way into the equation.

The goddamn But You've Been Friends Forever card.

And that was true, we had been friends since what I thought was the beginning of time. I could still remember Jay and me in kindergarten, stealing some weakling's nap mat; in third grade, splitting the profits we would get from digging through the other kids' backpacks during recess; and seventh grade, when the first punch I ever threw was aimed at a nerd that Jay was holding still. He had bailed me out of trouble countless times, and was always there as a shoulder to cry on--especially in the aftermath of mine and Paige's first breakup.

In general, the thing that killed me was that I didn't know which Jay was more dominant--his good bipolar side or his bad one. Yeah, he could be a heartless jerk, but he could also be a hell of a nice guy. It was like choosing between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

My migraine-worthy mental dilemmas faded away as I zoned out, leaning sideways on the couch to got more comfortable. About an hour after my eyes drifted closed, the feeling of something being put around me opened them.

"Sorry, hon, I didn't mean to wake you," apologized Paige, back from her errands. She had just put a soft blanket over me and was now crouched in front of me.

I stretched slightly, refraining from moving my arm, which as still in a cast and hanging in a sling. That and a small scar on my forhead were the only reminders of what had happened. I smiled as I used my good hand to pull the blanket in tighter. "Don't worry about it," I replied, then yawned. "I almost went--" I glanced at the clock on the wall. "--a full hour without seeing you. If that minute hand had gotten to twelve…hello, apocalypse."

Paige rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her grin. "Well, I'm glad I could stop the world from ending. Let's celebrate with a Gossip Girl marathon!"

I groaned. "Are you kidding me? Look me square in the eye and tell me I would find that show even remotely interesting."

"Okay, you win that argument, but could you just please, please, please give it one teensy-weensy chance? For me?"

I mock-frowned. "I thought we were focusing on my needs." She put on her best puppy-eyed expression and didn't waver for an astonishing amount of time. That girl was tough.

"Okay, fine," I muttered in an agonized tone. "But only if you'll be my pillow." I leaned up as she sat at the end of the couch, then I rested my head on her lap. She began stroking my hair as she found the channel. She squealed with excitement when she found that we were just in time, which forced me to burst out laughing.

It was actually a pretty good show. Paige thought I had fallen asleep again, because when Serena's grandmother told Serena's boyfriend that he was basically trash and I muttered "You bitch!" she jumped. I glanced up at her with a questioning glance, ready to explain if she thought I had aimed that comment at her, but she just smiled.

"I knew you'd like it."

"What? I never said I liked the show," I exclaimed.

She gave me a cynical look. "Who is your favorite guy so far?"

"Chuck's cool in a badass sort of way, Nate is hot but he's too much of a baby and a whiner and Dan is cute and funny, so--" I stopped when I realized that I was rambling with too much knowledge of a show I wasn't supposed to be enjoying. I began forming the swearword that rhymed with the first guy's name, but instead I mumbled a pitiful "Whatever," and turned back to the tv screen.

Paige leaned down to kiss me on the cheek then continued playing with my hair. I gave my full attention to Gossip Girl, but when it ended and she switched to an America's Next Top Model rerun, I gave up.

"Forget it," I muttered without looking up. I rolled over and snuggled into her sweatshirt, grabbing a painkiller pill from the bottle in my pocket. I paused, remembering that I was never good at dry swallowing, and rose from the couch to get a bottle of water.

Paige, thinking that I was ditching her because of her choice of television programming, immediately turned the tv off and joined me in the kitchen.

"We don't have to watch tv, let's do something else," she suggested, amusingly gulty about wanting to do something that I didn't.

"Yeah? Like what?" I asked before sending the pill down.

Paige came over and leaned back against the island in front of me. "I don't know, what d'you want to do?"

I could see from the smile on her face that this was going to become a game. "I don't know, what do you wanna do?" I asked in an exaggerated, playful voice.

"I don't know--"

"Shut up already!" I said, laughing, then kissed her. I kept my mouth against hers for as long as I could, but a girl's gotta breathe.

Paige smiled slightly, her arms wrapping around my shoulders. "So that's what you want to do."

I play-punched her lightly in the stomach. "You're lucky you're hot." I kissed her again, wrapping my good arm around her waist. After a few moments, smiling against her lips, I squeezed her side. She jumped and let out a tiny screech, which sent me into my third laughing spree of the night.

"Alex!" she scolded mockingly.

"Come on, you know you love me," I replied innocently, this time wearing my puppy dog face. She just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed as if she were a mother giving into her child's request.

"Wow, that was gushing with enthusiasm," I commented sarcastically.

"What about this?" she asked, then pulled me into a ferocious--in a good way--kiss. After what seemed like forever we broke apart, and I think she was just as dazed as I was.

"Yep, that'll do it," I said to break the silence. Paige said nothing, and instead put her hand under my chin to bring me closer.

Soon our mouths were together and open and going crazy, hands were around waists and shoulders and at sides, and all else in the world was forgotten.

It was the most delicious meal I had ever had.

Was that Gossip Girl reference amazing or what? I decided to brilliantly sneak that in there purely for my enjoyment because, as you may or may not have guessed, that show is my oh-so-guilty pleasure. One of my boyfriends is in it, too--Penn Badgley, aka Dan Humphrey. My other boyfriends are Shane Kippel and Edward (I feel that his last name, Cullen, is not necessary, because he is the most amazing and sexy fictional character this world has ever known and therefore needs only two syllables. But I'm getting off-topic here, why doesn't anybody tell me these things? I think you guys should stop reading this already and send some reviews my way so I know if I am or am not a complete failure. If it is against your religion to write reviews (and knowing America, I am willing to bet money that there's some kind of cult out there who believes exactly that) then feel free to email me: Wow, I can type that really fast! Also, let me know if it bothers you that my intros and conclusions are getting to be longer than the chapters themselves. Speaking of chapters...ish...REVIEW!